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2022 SPORTSMAN MASTER 24/7

• Odometer 0 mi
• Damage ENGINE BURN
• Title Type GA BILL OF SALE BILL OF SALE
• Sale Date Live Now
• Location RINCON , GA

2017 ROBALO ROBALO

• Damage TOTAL BURN

1987 ERICSON YACHTS 38IN SAIL BOAT

• Damage LEFT SIDE
• Title Type NC CERTIFICATE OF VESSEL

2017 YAMAHA OTHER

• Damage FLOOD
• Title Type FL VESSEL
• Sale Date 04/01/2024
• Location JUPITER , FL

1995 ALLIS OTHER

2006 SEADOO SEADOO SUPERCHARGER

• Damage FRONT END
• Title Type DE BILL OF SALE
• Location NEW CASTLE , DE

2017 SEADOO OTHER

• Damage ALL OVER
• Title Type NJ BILL OF SALE *** CANNOT BE RE-REGISTERD ****
• Location ENGLISHTOWN , NJ

2013 BULLET BASSBOAT

• Title Type TN BILL OF SALE BILL OF SALE
• Location CHATTANOOGA , TN

1997 VENTURE OTHER

2016 YAMAHA YAMAHA

• Damage RIGHT SIDE
• Title Type CA CLEAR - DEALER ONLY
• Location SAN DIEGO , CA

2002 MASTERCRAFT MBC X30

• Damage ENGINE DAMAGE
• Title Type OR CLEAR
• Location EUGENE , OR

2020 G3 OTHER

1986 BAYLINER OTHER

• Odometer 1 mi
• Damage MECHANICAL
• Title Type CA JUNK TRAILER SALVAGE CERT #2769748
• Location FREMONT , CA

1974 PEARSON SAIL

• Damage none
• Title Type MA CLEAR
• Sale Date 04/02/2024
• Location East Taunton , MA

2006 ACTION CRAFT OTHER

• Title Type FL VESSEL FLOOD
• Location NORTH FORT MYERS , FL

2006 EVERGLADES BOAT

• Damage REAR
• Location TAMPA , FL

1984 OTHER OTHER

2021 CROWNLINE OTHER

• Damage STORM DAMAGE
• Location CLEWISTON , FL

1999 CRUISERS YACHTS OTHER

• Title Type NY CLEAR
• Location MEDFORD , NY

2017 SEA RAY OTHER

1989 BAYLINER OTHER

• Damage FRESH WATER
• Title Type NY MV-907A
• Location SCHENECTADY , NY

2010 CHAPARRAL OTHER

2011 LUND OTHER

• Title Type MI WATERCRAFT TRAILER CAN BE SOLD ON BOS
• Location FLINT , MI

2019 SEA HUNT BOAT

• Damage LEFT & RIGHT
• Title Type FL CLEAR

1986 GRADY WHITE OTHER

1996 NITRO OTHER

• Title Type FL VESSEL HULL DAMAGE
• Location JACKSONVILLE , FL

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24' Sea Ray 2007 - 240 Sundancer

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Hundreds of boats damaged by Hurricane Ian up for auction at Florida salvage yard

CAPE CORAL, Fla. - Along with homes and businesses, Hurricane Ian also damaged countless number of boats. Now, hundreds of them are going on sale. 

According to WINK News , it will take place at Cooper Capital Specialty Salvage along Burnt Shore Road in Charlotte County . Hundreds are up for auction.

"Every time we drove by, there’s more and more boats out here, more and more boats," said Christopher Beucher, who is interested in purchasing one. "I’ve picked up a few tricks on, you know, how to save money, basically, so I learned how to fiberglass boats by doing it myself and small engines and motors through my father."

The salvage yard is open Thursday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

READ : North Port small businesses work to rebound after Hurricane Ian impacts

You can learn more about the closed-bid auction by clicking here .

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Salvage Boats for Sale

• Title: Oregon Salvage Salvage Title Certificate
• Odometer: 0 Exempt
• Sale Date: 2040-01-01
• Location: Woodburn, Oregon
• Vehicle History Report

• Title: Ohio Salvage Cert Of Title Watercraft
• Odometer: 0 Not Actual Miles
• Sale Date: 2024-04-01
• Location: Barberton, Ohio

• Title: Texas Other Cert Of Title To A Boat
• Location: Houston, Texas

• Title: Minnesota Salvage Cert Of Title To A Watercraft
• Location: Avon, Minnesota

• Title: Florida Clear Certificate Of Title
• Sale Date: 2024-04-03
• Location: Homestead, Florida

• Title: Iowa Other Title Certificate Boat
• Location: Eldridge, Iowa

• Title: South Carolina Clear Certificate Of Title
• Location: Harleyville, South Carolina

• Title: Indiana Salvage Cert Of Title For A Watercraft
• Sale Date: 2024-04-29
• Location: Dyer, Indiana

• Title: Wisconsin Other Boat Atv Snowmobile Reg Cert
• Location: Mcfarland, Wisconsin

• Sale Date: 2024-04-02
• Location: Tifton, Georgia

• Title: Virginia Other Cert Of Title To A Vessel
• Location: Charles City, Virginia

• Title: Oklahoma Clear Certificate Of Title
• Odometer: 131 Not Actual Miles
• Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• Title: Wisconsin Other Boat Certificate Of Title
• Sale Date: 2024-04-04
• Location: Earlington, Kentucky

• Title: Utah Salvage Salvage Certificate
• Location: Farr West, Utah

• Title: Pennsylvania Salvage Boat Certificate Of Title Salvage
• Location: Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

• Title: Nevada Other Ws
• Location: North Las Vegas, Nevada

• Location: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

• Odometer: 1 Exempt

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2013 BULLET BASSBOAT

2017 YAMAHA OTHER

2006 SEADOO SEADOO SUPERCHARGER

2017 SEADOO OTHER

2020 ROBA R222 EX

2002 WELLS CARGO BOAT

2001 FORM BOAT

2023 OTHR BOAT

2024 OTHR 23ZX

2002 MASTERCRAFT MBC X30

2016 YAMAHA YAMAHA

2020 G3 OTHER

2023 JON BOAT

2022 G3 BAY18

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2020 TRAC BOAT

2017 SYLV BOAT

2019 OTHR OTHER

2008 RINK BOAT

2004 OTHER SPORTSMAST

2002 CRUI BOAT

2018 AVAL TITAN

2016 SYLV PONTOON

2004 CHAP 190SSI

2003 OTHER OTHER

Boat auction | salvage boat for sale.

TOP 3 THINGS TO CHECK BEFORE BUYING A SALVAGE BOAT

Hundreds of boats are being damaged, abandoned, or seized due to the illegal acts of the owners. When a boat is damaged as a result of accident, the insurance company will pay the owner an amount worth the cost of the boat while they are left with the unused boat. In its critical condition, the boat cannot be sold because people don’t want to buy damaged boat.

However, the boat can be acquired by a salvage company, repaired and then sold for a cheap price. This happens mostly if the reparation cost is not more than 80% of the boat’s worth. Buying wrecked boats can be a great way to save some cash. Salvage companies are increasingly taking over the market. Unlike before, boat buyers can now get a better deal due to the availability of fairly used boats. The evidence can be traced back to 2009 when boat salvage auction seems to be hotter than ever before. Irrespective of the choice of boat, either a jet boat or fishing boat, you can always save some cash; however, you will need to do some repair works afterwards.

There are several ways you can get the best out of a damaged boat. You can either repair the boat then put it up for sale at a better offer to yield profit or you can create your dream boat out of it. Considering these benefits, one can infer that the purchase of a salvaged boat can be a good decision.

There are several shops where you can get a wrecked boat. However, you can get the best deal on damaged boats directly from car auctions . Either you are a new to purchasing broken boats or not, there are some important things to always look for before acquiring the boat. Few of these points are discussed below.

Things to Look Out For Before Buying a Wrecked Boat

Purchasing a wrecked boat is full of risk. However, you can make a good bargain when buying a boat at the salvage boat auction if you keep the following in mind:

Degree of Damage

Before buying any cheap salvage boat, endeavor to know the type of damage the boat has and how serious the damage is. It is a reasonable decision to for boat with reasonable or cheap repair expenses.

Estimated Cost of Repair and Your Budget

The cost of repairing the wrecked boat should not be more than 70 – 80 percent of the boat’s value. There are several evaluation agencies that can help you to determine the worth of the boat after reparation. A good example is the NADA. In most cases, the repair may be extensive if the boat needs to function at its best. Hence, you need to know the cost of repair before bidding for the in an auction.

Type of Required Repairs

Another thing you need to know before bidding for a salvage boat is the kind of repair required to get the boat back to its initial state. If the boat sank in a fresh water, the repair may not be panoptic as when the boat sank in saltwater.

Conclusion: the best place to find a good deal on yacht salvage is to log on to a reliable and decent online auction site. This will give you a better opportunity to buy the boat of your choice. BinNDrive.com is one of all auction sites that gives you good deal on repossessed boats at an affordable price. Check us out today

We offer a different types boats for sale: yachts, pontoons, fishing boats, ski boats.

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Sailboats For Sale Florida

20 listings found.

Westerly conway 36

• United States

1984 Herreshoff Tortola-Trawler Nereia 36′ Sailboat

36 Hunter Vision 1993

Hobie Mirage Tandem Island

• Florida , United States

1972 Luders 36 by Cheoy Lee

Tartan 10 Snowballs Chance

• Connecticut

1975 Bristol 32 Sloop, Keel/CB by Ted Hood (Am’s Cup)

• Massachusetts

Used Yamaha 200 HP 4-Stroke Outboard Motor Engine

Used Yamaha 115 HP 4-Stroke Outboard Motor Engine

33ft Blue Water Sailboat

Freshwater Only – 1989 Hunter 33.5 Sloop-Rigged Cruiser, Shoal Wing Keel

F&C 44′ Ketch

Reeds Cub Scow – SOLD

Melges C Scow

470 sailboat and trailer

• Pennsylvania

1978 Hunter 30 Cheurbini

Sold – Shallow Draft Cat Ketch 24 Cruiser

New and Used Sailboats For Sale

Florida is often the most sought after state to own a sailboat. Nearly surrounded by water, Florida offers both ocean, inlet and lake sailing. This offers Floridians the possibility of owning a range of types sailboats. The coastline paired with beautiful weather throughout the year, SailTrader has a variety of sailboats for sale in Florida suited for these conditions to choose from.

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One Design Sailboats

One Design sailboats can often provide the best chance to learn and improve your racing skills. It’s common to find one design racing sailboats near larger bodies of water. Search sailboats for sale in Florida from popular one design classes like the J24, J70, Tarten Ten, J105, J111, Melges 24 and more.

Dinghy’s are a often preferred due to the convenience and low maintenance costs. There are different classes that can offer a range of benefits and regattas. Browse dinghy’s for sale in Florida like Thistles, Lightnings, Flying Scots, Scows, Optimists, 420’s, Lasers, VX Ones and more. Dinghy’s are also a popular choice in areas of Florida that have small bodies of water. For racers, the cost of new sails for a dinghy are far less then a large racing sailboat. Search SailTrader for your next dinghy sailboat. 

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Port of Baltimore suspends ship traffic after bridge collapse: What it means for travel

Travel is being impacted by Tuesday’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse along Interstate 695 in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Drivers were immediately directed to take alternate routes through the city, following the early morning incident. What’s less clear is what the bridge collapse may mean for upcoming cruises in and out of Baltimore.

“Vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice,” the Port of Baltimore posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Live Updates: Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses after ship hits it; construction crew missing

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., whose district includes the bridge and the port, called the collapse an “unthinkable horror” and said he had spoken with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the White House. 

Learn more: Best travel insurance

“They are responding with all of the assets at their disposal,” he said in a statement. “Our prayers right now are for the missing individuals and victims of this tragedy. We thank God for the effective service of our first responders.”

Here’s what we know.

Which cruises go to Baltimore?

Several major cruise lines serve Baltimore. According to the Cruise Lines International Association, the industry’s leading trade group, published itineraries in the 2024 calendar year include a dozen ships making 115 stops in Baltimore.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragedy and collapse of the Key Bridge that occurred last night and extend our support and heartfelt prayers to all those impacted,” CLIA spokesperson Anne Madison said in an emailed statement. “We join everyone in extending our thanks and appreciation to the first responders and emergency workers in Baltimore, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other professionals who are working with one goal in mind—to save lives. We are closely following this situation.”

Carnival’s website shows Carnival Pride and Carnival Legend also have sailings into or out of Baltimore set for April. 

Carnival Legend will temporarily move operations to Norfolk, Virginia.

The ship's current cruise, which left for a planned round-trip sailing from Baltimore on March 24, will end in Norfolk on Sunday. Passengers will then receive free bus rides to Baltimore. The vessel's next cruise will sail round-trip from Norfolk later that day.

“Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore,” Carnival president Christine Duffy said in a statement. “We appreciate the pledge made by President Biden today to dedicate all available resources to reopen Baltimore Harbor to marine traffic as soon as possible. As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk.”

The cruise line has not yet shared plans for Carnival Pride. Carnival's parent company, Carnival Corp., said the temporary change in homeport is estimated to have an impact of up to $10 million on adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income this year, according to a news release .

Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas, which left from Baltimore on March 23 , will return to Norfolk instead on April 4. "Our guests on board will be provided compensation and complimentary shuttle transportation as well as Wi-Fi and phone calls to adjust their travel arrangements," a spokesperson said in an email.

The ship's April 4 and 12 cruises will leave from Norfolk, too. "Our guests booked to sail with us will receive compensation due to the necessary adjustments made to their vacations," the spokesperson added. "After returning from the April 12 cruise, Vision will head to the Bahamas for its previously scheduled maintenance."

Was your cruise itinerary changed?: What to do next

American Cruise Lines has roundtrip sailings from Baltimore scheduled in May, according to its website.

“We will monitor the situation and make adjustments to future cruises if needed, but at the present time our schedules remain unaffected, and our thoughts remain with those affected by the immediate situation and rescue efforts underway,” an American Cruise Lines spokesperson told USA TODAY.

Norwegian Cruise Line doesn’t appear to have any Baltimore sailings until September on Norwegian Sky . The line will stay in contact with the port and share any changes with passengers and travel partners, according to a spokesperson.

"In the meantime, we wish the city of Baltimore strength during this very unfortunate event," they said in an email.

Alternate routes for the Baltimore bridge

Most drivers can take Interstate 95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or Interstate 895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) to avoid the collapsed bridge. However Maryland Transportation Authority notes there are some exceptions .

Vehicles carrying hazardous materials, including more than 10 pounds of propane, are not allowed in the tunnels. Additionally, vehicles more than 13-feet and 6-inches high or 8-feet wide may not use the 1-895 Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Vehicles more than 14-feet and 6-inches high or 11-feet wide may not use the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel. 

Those vehicles should use the western portion of I-695 instead.

Business | South Florida yacht brokers hit with lawsuits…

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Business | south florida yacht brokers hit with lawsuits that claim 10% commissions violate antitrust laws.

Two newly filed federal lawsuits claim that 10% sales commissions required by South Florida’s yacht broker industry are anticompetitive and violate antitrust laws.

The claims follow an October finding by a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, that the National Association of Realtors conspired with brokers to artificially inflate commissions paid to real estate brokers. The ruling, and a March 15 settlement by the Realtors, is expected to radically change how homes are sold in the United States.

Both lawsuits involving yacht brokers name as defendants the International Yacht Brokers Association, based in Fort Lauderdale, the Yacht Brokers Association of America, Boats Group LLC and YATCO LLC.

Also listed as defendants in both suits are a who’s who of South Florida-based yacht brokers, including Denison Yacht Sales, MarineMax Inc., Galati Yacht Sales Inc., Allied Marine Inc., Tournament Yacht Sales LLC and Northrop & Johnson Yacht Ships, among others.

Nearly all of the defendants are headquartered in South Florida.

The most recent suit, filed on March 22, proposes a class of plaintiffs that includes anyone who listed vessels on certain Multiple Listing Services using a listing agent or broker affiliated with one of the defendants and paid a buyer’s broker commission since March 22, 2020.

The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit is Kip Lamar Snell, identified as an Alabama resident. Snell entered into an agreement with Galati to sell a 41-foot Express Cruiser Sea Ray in July 2020 and ended up paying a $12,000 commission on the $120,000 sale price, the suit states. The lawsuit lists as defendants 15 brokers and six organizations that promote the yacht trade or operate Multiple Listing Services.

That lawsuit follows one filed on Feb. 29 that proposes a class of plaintiffs that includes anyone who paid a commission to a listing broker affiliated with the defendants since Feb. 19, 2020. It lists as defendants 11 brokers and five organizations that promote the yacht trade or operate Multiple Listing Services.

The lead plaintiff in that suit is Ya Mon Expeditions, a Wyoming company that paid a “substantial broker commission” when it sold a vessel in January 2023 while represented by Tournament Yacht Sales of Tequesta.

The most recent complaint accuses the trade associations of colluding with brokers to “enforce an anticompetitive restraint that requires (sellers of pre-owned yachts and boats) to pay a brokerage fee to the buyer’s broker and a total aggregate commission fee that is inflated as a condition for selling their yachts.”

The complaint states the typical commission is 10% and is shared between the seller’s broker and the buyer’s broker under terms spelled out in Central Listing Agreements provided by the brokers associations, including the International Yacht Brokers Association and the Yacht Brokers Association of America.

Only boat brokers are able to list boats and yachts on such Multiple Listing Services as YachtWorld.com, BoatTrader.com and Boats.com, and the Multiple Listing Services will not accept listings from owners who want to sell their vessels themselves, the lawsuit states.

Yacht owners are “severely disadvantaged” if they do not list their boats for sale on the listing services, while buyers suffer because their brokers are “financially incentivized” to show boats that will earn them standard “and inflated” commission rates of 4% to 5% through co-brokerage transactions, the complaint states.

None of the defendants contacted for this story responded to a request for comment, and no response has been filed yet in either case.

Robert Allen Jr., whose Miami-based law firm Robert Allen Law represents the International Yacht Brokers Association, did not respond to emails or return a phone call.

A woman who answered the phone at the International Yacht Brokers Association said, “We have no comment on that,” and hung up after a reporter asked for her name.

Of six brokers contacted for comment about the lawsuits, only Tournament Yacht Sales responded to emails. “No comment,” the company’s response stated.

Overall commissions have increased faster than the rate of inflation in recent years as the price of larger boats and yachts have increased, according to the lawsuit that lists Snell as lead plaintiff.

The result is that boat owners pay “hundreds of millions of dollars” in inflated commissions each year, the suit alleges.

Both lawsuits allege violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act that are upheld by “brokers who should be competing with one another but, instead, cooperate with each other to the detriment of pre-owned boat sellers.”

Some brokerages represent both buyers and sellers and retain the entire 10% commissions, the suits state.

The trade associations enforce rules requiring brokers to offer their boats through a listing service and to share commissions, the suits state, adding that they can impose significant penalties on members who do not comply with their rules.

Yacht purchasers are disadvantaged by the current system, the lawsuit alleges, because their agents would otherwise negotiate for their business by decreasing their commission rates.

But buyer brokers’ commissions have remained constant despite their diminishing role, the suits state. Many buyers today find boats they are interested in purchasing through online searches and enlist the services of a buyer’s broker only after identifying the yacht they want to buy, the suits claim.

The lawsuits seek an order declaring the commission structure to be illegal, a permanent injunction outlawing what they describe as anticompetitive conduct, plus damages and/or restitution, pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorneys’ fees.

Paul Geller, an attorney for one of two law firms representing the class that includes Snell, acknowledged “parallels between the allegations relating to commissions in the real estate and yacht markets.”

In the real estate matter, the National Association of Realtors on March 15 agreed to a $418 million proposed settlement that would free home sellers from paying commissions to brokers for both sellers and buyers.

After a jury ruled for the plaintiffs in the case against the National Association of Realtors in October, numerous lawsuits were filed across the country with similar allegations, including one in December against the Florida Association of Realtors and 16 brokerages.

“At bottom, the goals of (the suit against the yacht brokers) are similar: protecting consumers by challenging what we allege to be anti-competitive conduct,” Geller said by email. “We believe in the universal truth that consumers benefit by increased transparency and the competitive pricing that results from negotiated terms, including commissions.”

Geller is a partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, which specializes in securities litigation on behalf of investors. The firm has offices in 10 cities, including Boca Raton.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at [email protected].

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Can a collapse like at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore happen in Florida?

Florida's bridges are, by and large, in good to excellent condition . But that doesn't mean something like the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Baltimore couldn't happen in the Sunshine State.

In fact, it already has.

The calamitous crash of the Dali, a 985-foot container ship, into supports for the Interstate 695 beltway bridge in Maryland, sent the span tumbling into the Patapsco River early Tuesday. Upon hearing the news, many longtime Floridians recalled the Sunshine Skyway bridge disaster.

On May 9, 1980, a freighter, the MV Summit Venture, crashed into the Skyway over Tampa Bay, causing a 1,400-foot section of the southbound span to collapse and killing 35 people. That led to the 1987 reconstruction of that bridge, now Interstate 275, linking Pinellas and Manatee counties.

Just more than 10 years ago, a less dramatic crash involved a Navy cargo ship that struck the Mathews Bridge in downtown Jacksonville on Sept. 26, 2013. The bridge was closed to traffic for a little more than a month, while the Florida Department of Transportation made repairs and secured it.

Could it happen again?

Yes, says Maryam Ghyabi-White, a civil engineer and consultant who has been involved in the construction of roads and bridges across Florida for nearly 30 years. But, she notes, Florida's bridges are inspected at least once every two years and consistently pass those tests.

"Do we have old bridges? Yes, absolutely. Can these bridges be vulnerable? Absolutely," Ghyabi-White said.

Florida's bridges compare favorably to other states

Florida had 12,881 bridges as of 2023, according to  American Road & Transportation Builders Association  data, and 449 of them were considered structurally deficient. With a 3.5% of bridges in that category, Florida was the ninth best state for bridge condition, bested only by Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Delaware, Georgia, Utah, Vermont and Alabama.

West Virginia was highest, with 20% of its bridges structurally deficient.

FDOT has done a "great job" of maintaining bridges, which is why older spans have been able to pass inspections, Ghyabi-White said. But there are needs.

"In Volusia County, the one bridge that I think everybody is looking at is Main Street. That's a pretty old bridge, but it still is meeting the criteria," she said.

The Main Street Bridge is one of five spans across the Halifax River linking mainland Daytona Beach with the beachside. Built in 1959, it is a Bascule, or drawbridge, with two portions of the road that can lift to allow taller boats through.

The four other bridges in the vicinity are all taller spans allowing boats with a higher clearance to pass beneath. And they have all been built within the last 30 years and have sufficiency ratings above 90 on a scale of 100.

By comparison, Main Street Bridge scored a 32.5 on its most recent inspection and was labeled structurally deficient, meaning one of four key elements of a bridge ― the deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert ― is considered poor or worse.

The Main Street Bridge remains open and is considered safe for travel, as inspectors will recommend immediate closure or emergency repair if a bridge has a critical condition that is found to endanger the public, according to an FDOT document .

Volusia County is responsible for the bridge's upkeep, maintenance and ultimate replacement.

Main Street is not on the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization's 2023 list of priority projects.

Cost a consideration

Ghyabi-White said bridge replacements are expensive. The county, with federal funds, replaced the Tom Staed Veterans Memorial Bridge linking Orange and Silver Beach avenues, completing the project in 2020 at a cost of $47 million.

"We have a dire need for infrastructure funding throughout the state of Florida," Ghyabi-White said.

At least five bridge replacement or repair jobs are in progress locally, including the Whitehair Bridge on State Road 44 over the St. Johns River, linking Volusia and Lake counties. It's projected to be complete later this spring at a cost or $44 million.

One factor that could help protect Volusia and Flagler counties' bridges is the fact that there's no port for commercial shipping. The kinds of giant container ships such as the one in Baltimore don't navigate local waters, so while there's potential for boats to damage bridges, at least they won't carry that kind of punch.

Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville are among Florida's bigger ports, while large vessels can also encounter many other bridges.

Michael Williams, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said in an email bridge safety is a "fundamental commitment," carried out by FDOT's inspectors who routinely evaluate spans and follow up after traffic-related incidents and adverse weather, such as hurricanes.

"In Florida, contemporary bridge designs and construction incorporate robust measures to mitigate the impact of maritime vessels," Williams said. "For example, numerous safety enhancements have been implemented at the Skyway Bridge in the Greater Tampa Bay region to safeguard against collisions. These measures include elevating the bridge, widening the channel, and incorporating two layers of protection for bridge piers."

That bridge also features "dolphins," a collection of 36 pilings that serve as physical barriers to the span, as well as rock islands that surround the main channel supports.

Mark Lane: As drawbridges get replaced, Main Street's still stands

Intra or Inter? New signs at Daytona bridge get a quick spelling correction

Why the Baltimore bridge stood little chance against a fully loaded cargo ship

As questions surround the collapse of a Baltimore bridge after a containership crashed into it Tuesday, engineering experts say that while bridges have some built-in defenses against collisions, this one was most likely too extreme to withstand.

“Bridges are and should be designed to withstand ship impacts. That’s typical of the design process,” said Sanjay R. Arwade, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

“But for all structures and all engineered systems, there is a possibility that an event will occur that is beyond what the structure was designed for. And this may be one of those situations,” he added. 

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a roughly 1.5-mile-long steel arch truss bridge, collapsed into the Patapsco River early Tuesday after a containership struck it. Several vehicles crashed into the water, and one of the country’s busiest ports shut down.

Follow live updates on the Baltimore bridge collapse

An unknown number of workers with Brawner Builders Inc.   were repairing concrete ducts when the ship, called the Dali, hit a support pillar. Six employees are presumed dead .

Key Bridge was ‘fairly unprotected'

Arwade said design codes for modern bridges stipulate "what sort of loads it has to be able to resist.”

“Whenever a design code is written, decisions have to be made about what the most extreme conditions are,” he said. 

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the bridge was "fully up to code."

But the Key Bridge was built in 1977, and bridge design and technology have improved since then.

"Since the 1970s, we have a lot of advancements," Sameh Badie, a professor of engineering at George Washington University,  told NBC Washington. But he said, "I saw today a couple of videos before the collapse, and it seems to me, structurally wise, it was very safe."

Roberto Leon, a structural engineer at Virginia Tech, said that while engineers try to account for “extreme events” during the design and construction process, “when this bridge was built, there were no ships of this size.”

“This type of load was not really considered,” he said. “So the bridge was, I would say, fairly unprotected.”

Retrofitting older bridges could cost millions

Officials have not specified what type of protective infrastructure, if any, the Key Bridge had. 

Leon said that on a newer bridge, large concrete structures called dolphins are often used to protect the base. Dolphins can form a kind of frame and are designed to take the impact of a vessel and “slow the ship down and redirect it away from the bridge,” he said.

“In some cases, they’re called sacrificial elements, because they might be damaged beyond repair if an event of this type occurs, but of course, they save the bridge,” he added.

John Pistorino, a structural engineer in Florida, said dolphins are in use to protect the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Florida, which was reopened in 1987 , seven years after it was hit by a freighter. Thirty-five people died after the bridge collapsed into Tampa Bay.

Pistorino, who was involved in the construction of the rebuilt Sunshine Skyway Bridge, described dolphins as walls or guardrails.

“They can be concrete or steel … and they go all the way down to the bottom of the river,” he said. “They’re supposed to protect the abutments.” 

Jacksonville, Florida, Mayor Donna Deegan cited the dolphin infrastructure that's in place to protect the Dames Point Bridge — the only bridge in the city that cargo ships sail under — in a statement Tuesday. She noted that the bridge is also equipped with specialty sensors that provide real-time information about the distance between the water surface and the bottom of the bridge structure over the main channel.

Older and more vulnerable bridges can be retrofitted to add defensive infrastructure like dolphins, Leon said, but building them can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I’m hoping that because of the infrastructure bill that passed, we are going to be able to do projects like this,” he said, referring to the $555 billion infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed in 2021. “Putting those into the budget and justifying them is very difficult when you have all kinds of other bridges that are in really sad shape. So it’s just a question of prioritization.”

However, Kevin Heaslip, director of the Center for Transportation Research and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said the cost of designing bridges to withstand fully loaded cargo ships like the Dali would “be so high that we wouldn’t be able to have any bridges.”

Government oversight of bridges could increase

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he has been monitoring the situation in Baltimore. A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board has been sent to the crash site. 

Leon said he hopes what happened in Baltimore will cause port operations to change “quite a bit.” Pistorino said the event may lead legislators to take a closer look at vulnerable bridges in the country and the types of maritime traffic in ports.

“Just like the building collapse in South Florida created a lot of legislation that required a more intimate type of building scrutiny, I think that will happen on the bridges,” he said.

Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.

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